Performance, Puppets & Shadows
As as an artist, a storyteller and a musician, micro theatre ticks all the creative boxes as a medium to explore. It involves scene design, prop making and shadow puppetry, as well as putting narratives and soundscapes together. Some of my puppets and scenes become inspiration for animated works too; I love to merge the physicality of material characters in live theatre with fantastical animated worlds, in an effort to blur the line between real and unreal.
The Legend of Lady Banbury
Crankie
‘Crankie’ is an old visual storytelling art form, historically known as moving panorama. An illustrated scroll is wound onto two spools within a crankie box, the handles are then cranked to move the images along and bring them to life. Shadow puppetry and music can play a significant role, adding atmosphere and magic to a performance.
Crankie performance filmed aboard my boat of a scroll commissioned for Science Wonder Garden Party to tell the story of the Oxford canal.
Scroll/Music/video production by Karis Harringon
The Faithful Hound Gelert
Dance of the Death Sprite is a concept in motion, with the intention to eventually perform the stories live. Here are some experiments in conveying emotion and atmosphere utilising soundscape and shadow puppetry!. The beginnings of a tale about the forbidden evoking of a death sprite, who is then plagued with a lifetime trapped inside a crankie box.
Articulated Puppet workshop at Museum Of Oxord
Tale of The Mester Stoor Worm
Crankie Workshop Community Art Project
The Crankie Workshop encourages groups of kids, or adults, to dive deep into their imaginations and help create elements for a Crankie Scroll to tell a story on a specific theme. This summer I was invited to Oxford’s Science Wonder Garden Party in collaboration with Kilsby Theatre Boat project. We made shadow puppets, painted canal folk art, potato stamped horse hooves, sketched life through portholes and designed boats from the future. The art was collected up and made into a final scroll telling the story of the Oxford Canal, past, present and future, showcasing the participant’s artwork created on the day. I then filmed the performance, adding a song and soundscape and the production was accessed online for all workshoppers!. More on the project can be found below.
Crankie scroll workshop making process
